West Valley City teen charged as an adult in slaying of stepfather

Crime • 16-year-old allegedly shot victim, 52, in the head during an argument.

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This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Sixteen-year-old Rosco Dewayne Brackett was charged as an adult Tuesday with fatally shooting his stepfather at their West Valley City home last Thursday night.

Brackett  who turned 17 Wednesday  was charged in 3rd District Court with first-degree felony murder in the slaying of 52-year-old James Michael George.

The teen is also charged with one count each of second-degree felony obstruction of justice and third-degree felony discharge of a firearm.

Police say the deadly shooting took place at a home near 3700 South 6800 West in West Valley City, where the teen lived with his mother and stepfather.

Brackett was arguing with George when Brackett walked away and got a loaded handgun from the front room of the home, according to the charges. He came back and shot at George, the first bullet going over him, then shot again and hit him in the head, the charges state.

Brackett then shot George several more times once he was on the ground, according to the charges. Police have said that George had multiple gunshot wounds to his chest.

Police suspect that Brackett then hid the gun and tried to get rid of his shirt.

Brackett's mother called for help and George was taken to the hospital, but he died from his injuries on Saturday.

Police arrested Brackett and booked him into a juvenile detention facility. After the charges were filed Tuesday, he was moved to the Salt Lake County jail.

Bail has been set at $1 million. No court dates had been set as of Tuesday night.

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